12 Smart Ways To Use Empty Swiffer Containers Around The House To Make Your Life Easier

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Few household cleaners rival the convenience of Swiffer's pre-moistened mopping pads that are soaked in cleaning solution and ready to use. The only issue is that once the wipes are gone, all that's left is a durable but empty plastic container destined for the trash. Fortunately, that doesn't have to be the end of their story. Once the cleaning pads are all used up, there are many brilliant ways to reuse the containers around the house, from preserving food and drink products to organizing old receipts. This extends the value of your purchase and helps keep the plastic packaging out of landfills.

The Swiffer containers work well because the lids seal tightly to keep wet mop pads wet for as long as possible. They're made of a sturdy plastic that is comparable to the strength of store-bought organizers and storage containers. The plastic material is identified as the number "6" on the recycling label, which indicates it's polystyrene. Polystyrene has many advantages, as it's lightweight and moisture-resistant. Depending on how it's made, it can also be rigid and durable. Although polystyrene is recyclable, you should know that by 2024, the United States was only recycling around 13.3% of plastic packaging (per U.S. Plastics Pact) due to low collection rates and insufficient recycling facilities. Swiffer containers are much more likely to be put to good use if repurposed around a home instead.

Repurpose shallow Swiffer containers into a desk organizer anyone can pull off with ease. Simply clean them out and fill each one with a different type of stationery. This ensures pens and pencils stay organized when you're rifling through desk drawers. If there isn't much space to work with, also save the lids so the containers can stack on a shelf or in a closet. Designate each container with a sticker label, like the Svnooc Multi-Use Stickers.

Pick up a pack of Handy Pantry Plastic Garden Inserts and place three into an empty Swiffer wet cloth package to create a DIY seed starting station. The plastic tub works as a catch tray that prevents water from leaking onto other surfaces. Also, consider saving the lid and poking tiny holes in it to create a mini, ventilated greenhouse. This keeps conditions humid and protects the growing saplings from pets or wild animals. Just avoid starting food seeds, since the cleaning chemicals might have permeated the plastic. 

Keep teabags organized in this DIY divided tea holder. Cut a piece of cardboard into four sections: three sized to the width of the Swiffer container and one sized to its length. Interlock and hot-glue the cardboard slabs inside the container to form eight compartments for different tea varieties. Consider using acrylic paint or peel-and-stick vinyl to dress up the container. Another option is hot gluing embellishments, such as the Diamond Wrap Ribbon for a bedazzled design or the Floral Garden Ribbon for a rustic, gingham look.

Barbie-branded toys can be expensive. Save money and make your kids happy by getting creative with a Swiffer container. It has roughly the same dimensions as a Barbie bed, which is about 12 ½-inches by 5 ⅜-inches. A Facebook user brilliantly used the bottom half of the container as the bed frame and turned the lid into a duvet that she then wrapped in fabric. Try repurposing fabric from around your home, or check out Hobby Lobby's collection of fat quarters for under $2.

Sometimes, people need to hold onto receipts for tax or budgeting purposes. Keep your past purchase records safe from getting crumpled, spilled on, or thrown away by stacking them in a sealed container. The large box has plenty of space to store receipts. As long as the lid is on tightly, there's no need to worry about them falling out or getting lost under other paperwork. Store this container in a desk, office cabinet, or another practical spot. If you have years of receipts, organize each year in a separate box and label it accordingly.

Since mini acrylic paint bottles are small, they can easily become clutter on shelves. Instead, organize them in a Swiffer container. A 12-count wet cloth box holds 10 2-ounce bottles. If you have more than 10 bottles, you can stack multiple DIY organizers on a single shelf and put similar colors in shared containers. This makes it easier to find the paint shades you need, and it takes away the risk of them falling over and spilling over other stored items.

It's always a treat to open your fridge and see a large selection of sauces to choose from. However, the more sauces you have, the more likely one will leak and make a mess. Keep your shelves clean by storing sauces in a wet mop container. Don't worry about the bottles tipping the container over, since the Swiffer box is sturdy enough to hold them upright. This idea is more practical with a 24-count wet cloth box, which has taller sides and more support for larger ingredients.

Optimize your pet's wet food, dry food, and treat organization with an impromptu divider. The Swiffer container is the perfect size for eight 3-ounce pet food cans. Stack them high while keeping them within the confines of the plastic so they don't get lost under other pet supplies. These boxes are also great for storing treats by creating another barrier. Pets will have a much harder time breaking through hard plastic than they would with flimsy treat packaging, especially if it's secured shut with a rubber band.

There are plenty of game-changing utensil drawer organizers, but there is also a more immediate solution that repurposes an item you may already have. Shallow Swiffer containers are the perfect length to hold kitchen utensils. They fit inside a standard drawer and can hold forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks, and drinking straws as needed. If you want to upgrade the organization even more, add cardboard dividers to the basket or use multiple containers to hold different utensil types. If you're worried about residual chemicals that possibly leached into the container, you can add a paper liner barrier between the utensils and box. 

Hot glue sticks typically come in flimsy bags that get lost or ripped open, creating a mess. The next time you open a bag of mini glue sticks, stockpile them in a practical wet mop container. They fill one half of the container, while a hot glue gun takes up the other half. The innovative storage solution will fit in most drawers, shelves, and cabinets. Just ensure the hot glue gun is fully cooled before putting it away, since the container has low heat-resistance.

Sometimes the hardest part of a DIY project is keeping all of the materials intact throughout the process. Real seashells are especially brittle. If you recently scavenged a real collection, don't take the traditional route of dropping them in a glass jar for safekeeping. Instead, line a Swiffer container with spare fabric or a rag and place the assorted seashells on top. The lid keeps them locked in a safe place, and the fabric prevents them from sliding around and chipping each other.

According to a New York Post poll, most people store their junk in the garage. Small pieces, like hardware, are easily lost in the mix of larger items. Stock up on Swiffer containers to separate and stow hundreds of nails, screws, and other hardware materials. Even when these containers are filled halfway with hundreds of metal nails, they still support the weight. If you have multiple crafting materials, separate them and identify each plastic bin with water-resistant stickers like the Woweasi Removable Freezer Labels.